HELP! How to get babys in the flock?

[Chicken Girl]

How is it done?! They are in a brooder box with mom and mom is a bantam. All the other chickens are white mean leghorns and a monster size buff cochin roo. If i let mom out with the flock not the babys they pick on her! Some of the leghorns dont care, but the ones that do! MAN!! I cant let her out with the babys and the box they are in is geting small! And the babys are about 6 or 7 weeks old. What should i do!!!


Chicken Girl

 

[lux_interior]

Unfortunately, I can't help you... but I'm waiting by here hoping someone else has ideas! I have 6 week old chickens living outside, and a couple 4 day old babies inside... I thought it would be easy to introduce them to each other because they're relatively close in age... but I was wrong! I took the babies out into the coop yesterday for a few minutes just to see how things went, and one of my bigger ones kept scaring them off anytime they started walking close to the big girls!!!

 

[karen71]

I think your going to have to have a seperate area -if the bigger are mean to the momma also
I have a silkie that hatched some Delaware Blue Hen eggs and I put her in her own area - they all free ranged together and that was ok but when they were enclosed the bigger hens chased the babies- however once the silkie attacked the bigger chicken

maybe some more experienced users will chime in

 

[Gloria]

I know what you mean about the white leghorns. The last time I introduced new babies it was my brown leghorn. Now I have a white Plymouth Rock giving new babies a hard time. Good grief!

If momma has been away from the flock for a while they will give her a hard time. They have to all learn the pecking order all over again. In order to do that you'll have to put her back out with the rest of them.

The babies are old enough they don't have to be with mom anymore. So you can put them in a small cage in the coop so everyone gets to know each other for a few weeks. But the grown ups can't get to them.

After a few weeks and after everyone has settled the pecking order with momma you can slowly start letting the babies out for a little bit at a time, maybe once a day. Just make sure to keep a close eye on them!

If the babies are still really little just leave them in the coop in a cage until they are a little bigger before letting them take any field trips outside. lol

Hope this helps!

 

[Jarhead]

Here is what I have done in the past. Lately though they have just let the broody with the chicks right back into the flock without any issues. In the corner of the fence, I ran cheap old chicken wire to make a large pen for the chicks and the broody hen. I took some sections of rebar and just pushed them into the ground to support the chicken wire in the middle. I also made a little shelter by taking a large rubbermade container (the kind that are used for storage and are like $5 at walmart) with lid and cut out a "door" in the side of it. Inside the rubbermade I put pine shavings. I think it took me about 10 minutes to do all of it. After a couple of weeks you can let them out and if all is well, it only takes 5 minutes to take down the make shift pin, roll up the chicken wire and store it for next time.

 

[tazzy]

We do the fence thing in the corner of the chicken coop, too. We let our chicks from about 4-5 weeks of age live in a big corner of the chicken coop that is separated from the rest of the adults by chicken wire. Then, after 2-3 weeks of visitation through the fence, we let the flock merge. We haven't had any problems yet.

 

[Chicken Girl]

I have let the babys outside with mom but out of the chicken yard away from all the others. And the box they are in they can see every one! They have been in the 'see through' box senc day 2! They can see babys but cant get to them. And how long do you think this is going to go on? And i may or may not get babys from the hatchery how does that work? Thanks you guys!


Chicken Girl